Ticket-issuing machine



March 18, 1941- c. F. WEBB TICKET-'ISSUING MACHINE 2 Shqets-Sheet 1Filed Dec.

In acute: CZIzh apZerHeQIfc'f/KJJ 10M I Y A flor r iey March 18, 1941.

c. F. WEBB TICKET- ISSUING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1959A Moral};

Patented Mar. 18, 1941 PATENT OFFICE TICKET-ISSUING MACHINE ChristopherFrederick Webb,

assignor to Bell Punch Uxbridge, England, Company Limited,

London, England. a British company Application December 16, 1939, SerialNo. 309,535 In Great Britain December 4, 1938 2 Claims.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved machine for theprinting and issuing oi tickets, receipts, vouchers and the like, suchtickets being produced from a continuous web of paper retained in themachine.

The invention comprises a machine as aforesaid in which the ticket isfirst printed, while still forming part of the continuous web,.with aportion of the matter to be printed thereon, the ticket beingsubsequently severed from the strip and after such severing beingprinted with the remaining part or the aforesaid matter.

The accompanying drawings show one manner of carrying the invention intoeilect.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a ticket printing and issuing machineconstructed in accordance with the invention, the parts of the machinewhich are not essential to the understanding of the invention beingomitted.

Figs. 2 and 3 show, to a larger scale than Fig. 1, a side elevation andsectional side elevation respectively of the removable printing head.

Fig. 4 is an end view of a detail in the aforesaid printing head.

Figs. 5 and 6 show respectively a number printing device and a dateprinting device'incorporated in the printing head.

The machine illustrated is adapted to print each ticket with thefollowing matter in the following order: a" serial number at or near oneend of the ticket; the main body of the ticket, for example the price oftheticket, the issuing station and the destination; 9. repeat of theserialnumber previously printed; and at or near the other end of theticket the date of issue. The ticket printing and issuing mechanismillustrated in the drawings is shown in the form 01. a-unit which can bepositioned in and readily removed from a casework, a plurality of suchunits being preferably arranged in the one casework and being operatedfrom a single electric motor or other convenient source of power. In theexample shown the unit comprises a pair oi side plates 2! (one only ofwhich is shown) between which the parts of the printing and issuingmechanism are contained, the said plates being formed with recesses 15whereby the unit can be supported on suitable members, for example rods,in the casework, and with a catch piece I. which can be hooked under oneof the said members to hold the unit in position. 7

The various printing members of the unit are carried in a printing headwhich is constructed to be readily removable from the ticket issuingunit so as to permit the printing of difl'erent kinds of tickets in thesame unit. This removable printing head is illustrated in detail inFigs. 2 and 3 and comprises a pair of parallel plates l0 between whichare carried a pair of number printing devices ll arranged at oppositesides of the 5 axis of rotation of the head, a curved support l2 for aprinting stereo, a date printing arrangement I3 and a counter ll. Theplates ID are rotatable around a spindle l5 and to the ends of thisspindle are secured by screws l8 the tree ends of the arms I 6 of a yokepiece arranged to embrace the printing head. The arms Ii are each formedwith a shoulder H for a purpose hereinafter described and the ends ofthe spindle ii are formed with a groove I! in which the ends of the armsis are located to prevent relative movement between the yoke piece andthe spindle l5. When the printing head is positioned in the ticketissuing unit the ends of the spindle l5 rest in the lower ends ofrecesses 20 in the 20 side plates 2| of the unit and the shoulder I1 islocated below a shoulder 22 in the slot 20 as shown in Fig. 1, the yokebeing held in this position by a pivotal catch piece (not shown) which rcan engage over the cross member 23 (Fig. 2) or the yoke piece. Toremove the printing head from the ticket issuing unit the catch pieceaforesaid is lifted to release the cross piece 23 and after swinging theyoke through a small distance in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig.1 30 the printing head can be lifted out of the unit.

Each number printing device ll comprises a set of figure wheels 24 (Fig.5) bearing the figures 0 to 9 and rotatably mounted on a spindie 25carried between the side plates l0. To a the units figure wheel isconnected 8. gear wheel 26 by means of which the units wheel can berotated through one digit at a time, the transfer to the 10s figurewheel being eifected after each complete rotation of the units wheel byany known form of transfer mechanism. Also the counter I4 is of knownform and is advanced by means of a gear wheel 21 which gear wheel andthe figure wheels of the counter are mounted on a spindle 28. Thecounter is supported in the printing head by a frame 28 secured in anyconvenient manner to the plates In.

The upper number printing device II (as viewed in Fig. 3) and thecounter H are actuated from a common pinion, end view of which is shownin Fig, 4, this pinion in effect comprising two pinions, the one aIO-tooth pinion 3| arranged in engagement with the gear wheels 28,

'21 and a 5-tooth pinion 3| the teeth of which coincide with alternateteeth of the pinion 30.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4 these two pinions are constructedintegrally one with the other but for simplifying the description theymay be regarded as two separate but intercom nected parts.

Situated between the plates I and secured to the spindle I is a circularplate 32 formed at one side with a recess 33 and to the rear side of theplate 32 (as viewed in Fig. 3) is secured a part 34 shaped as shown inFig. 3 and formed with a recess arranged to coincide with the recess 33.The arrangement of parts is such that the part 34 lies in the path ofmovement of the teeth 30 while normally the pinion 3|, and hence alsothe pinion 30, is held against movement by two of the teeth of thepinion 3| running on the circumference of the plate 32 as shown in Fig.3. When, however, during the rotation of the plates ID the pinion 30reaches the part 34 the tooth of the pinion 30 which extends beyond theperiphery of the plate 32 engages with the leading end of the part 34and when passing over the latter the pinion 30 is rotated through twoteeth, the intermediate tooth moving into the recess in the part 34.During this rotation of the pinion 30 the pinion 3| is rotated throughone tooth, the said tooth passing into the recess 33 during rotation ofthe pinion. Hence therefore after the pinions 30 and 3| have passed thepart 3% the pinion 30 will have been rotated through two teeth and thepinion 3| through one tooth and two teeth of the pinion 3| will again beresting on the circumference of the plate 32 so as to hold the pinionsagainst movement until the plates it] have completed a further rotation.The gear wheels 26 and 21 which engage with the pinion 30 are eachprovided with teeth so that rotation of the pinion through two teethproduces a rotation of each gear wheel of one tenth of a revolution andtherefore serves to advance the number printing device and the counterby one digit. It will be apparent that each rotation of the plates illserving to print one ticket also serves to increase the number printingdevice and the counter by one digit. It will be observed that Figs. 2and 3 show the reverse side of the printing head to that shown in Fig.1, the head being arranged to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in Fig. 1 and in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3 and4.

The lower number printing device (as viewed in Fig. 3) is advanced inexactly the same manner as the upper number printing device and isassociated with a second combined pinion 3|], 3|.

The date printing device is of well-known form and comprises numberwheels 35 for printing the day of the month, a wheel 36 for printing themonth in words, and a wheel 31 for printing the last two figures of theyear, these wheels being adjusted by hand to the required positions atthe commencement of each days issue of tickets.

The curved support i2 is intended to carry a curved printing stereo (notshown) which may be secured to the support by any suitable means, forexample screws 38.

The printing mechanism including the removable printing head is shown inside elevation in Fig. 1, the parts of the mechanism not essential tothe understanding of the invention having been'omitted. As shown in Fig.1 the blank ticket strip 39, which is fed off a reel (not shown), passesbetween ticket guides 40 and 4|, the ticket strip being prevented fromslipping downwardly when released by the printing mechanism by means ofa gripper piece 42 pivotally mounted at 43 and acted upon by a spring 44serving to hold the gripper 42 in contact with the paper web 39. Thearrangement is such that the web 39 can be moved comparatively freely inan upward direction but is prevented from moving downwardly by the endof the gripper 42 biting into the web. The guides 40 and 4| aresupported in the unit by any convenient means (not shown). Located in anaperture 45 formed in the guide 4| is a part 46, the said part beingpivotally mounted at 41 and carrying at its upper end a roller 48arranged to cooperate with a raised portion 49 of a rotary part 50 toadvance the ticket strip in an upward direction, the roller 48 beingurged in a direction towards the part 50 by means of a spring 5| securedto the part 46.

At the upper end of the ticket guides 40, 4| is located mechanism forsevering the tickets from the strip, this mechanism comprising a fixedknife blade 52 and a movable knife blade 53, the leading end of thelatter resting on the upper end of the fixed blade 52 and being inclinedto the direction of movement of the movable blade 53 so as to produce ashearing action. The movable blade is held in position in contact withthe fixed blade 52 by means of a spring 54 and is actuated by means of abell crank 55 pivotally mounted at 55 and having one end projectingthrough a hole in the movable blade 53 and the other end lying in thepath of movement of a pin 57 carried on the rotary part 55. The part 50is arranged to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 andwhen the pin 51 engages the bell crank 55 the knife blade is moved fromthe open position shown in Fig. 1 to sever the ticket strip, the bellcrank 55 and the movable blade 53 being restored to their originalpositions by the spring 54, which is connected as shown between the bellcrank and the movable blade, after the pin 51 has released the end ofthe bell crank.

Situated above the knife mechanism is a platen roller 58 made of rubber,felt or other suitable material, this platen roller being adapted tocooperate with the printing surfaces in the printing head to print theticket and at the same time advance the same through the machine. Theroller 58 is mounted on a spindle 59 carried by an eccentric 60 mountedin a plate 59 adjustably secured by means of a screw 52 to one of theside plates 2| of the machine, the screw 52 and eccentric 50 permittingthe pressure between the platen roller 58 and the printing surfaces tobe adjusted. Above the platen roller are situated ticket guides 63 and56 through which the ticket is ejected after printing.

The printing surfaces are inked through the intermediary of a roller 55carried at the end of an arm 66 pivotally mounted on an adjustableeccentric 5i and acted upon by a spring 68 serving to urge the roller 55into contact with a roller 59 to which ink is supplied from anyconvenient source (not shown).

The parts of the unit receive movement from a gear-wheel 10 secured tothe spindle II to which the part 50 is fixed, a gear wheel I2 secured byscrews 13 to one of the plates l0 being arranged to engage with the gearwheel 10 when the printing head is located in its operating position inthe unit. Hence therefore rotation of the gear wheel 10 will effectrotation of the printing head. Also the gear wheel 10 engages with apinion I4 connected to the inking roller 59. The gear wheel it receivesmovement from any convenient source of power, for example an electricmotor, the circuit of which can be completed and interrupted at theappropriate times by any suitable known type of mechanism. As the meansfor driving the gear wheel form no part of the present invention theyhave not been shown in the drawings.

The operation of the mechanism above described is as follows:

With the machine at rest the upper end of the ticket strip 3! lies atthe knife mechanism, this end having remained at this point since theseverance from the strip of the previous ticket. At the commencement ofa cycle 0! operations, which may be initiated in the usual manner bydepression of a button or a key, the raised portion 49 of the rotarypart II first engages the strip and advances the same through a smallamount suflicient to move the leading end of the strip up to the platenroller II. Immediately afterwards the strip is picked up by thelowermost number printing device (Fig. 3) which simultaneously with theprinting of a serial number advances the strip a still further smallamount. Subsequently the ticket strip is engaged and printed by .thestereo which advances the strip through a distance equal to the lengthof the printed matter on the stereo, the ticket strip remaining at restduring the interval between its advance by the raised portion 4! andprinting by the number device and during the interval between the latterprinting and printing by the stereo, and being held against rearwardmovement during these intervals by the gripper piece l2. Immediatelyafter the stereo has released the ticket strip and the latter has againcome to rest, the strip is printed by the second number printing device,such operation serving to advance the strip a further small amount, andimmediately after this the strip is severed by the knife, the point ofseverance being spaced a small distance from the second serial number.Subsequent to the severing of the partially printed ticket from thestrip the ticket is engaged at the position between the serial numberlast printed and the newly severed end by the dating device whichsimultaneously serves to print the date of issue on the ticket and toeject the latter from the machine.

By suitable adjustment of the mechanism the printed matter on the ticketcan be printed as near each end of the latter as may be required. In thearrangement above described a portion of the ticket matter is printedwhile the ticket still forms part of the strip, the ticket being thensevered from the strip and being subsequently ejected from the unit bymeans serving to print the remaining portion of the printed matter onthe ticket.

By this invention we are able to provide a ticket printing and issuingmachine of simple and ei'iicient construction which can print therequiredmattcrontheticketwithaminimumof paper waste. This is incontradistinction to the majority of ticket printing and issuingmachines at present in use which either have to leave an appreciable gapbetween each end of the ticket and the printed matter or have toincorporate complicated mechanism for overcoming this defect. Also inview of the fact that the ticket is severed from the strip after theprinting thereon of the stereo matter the length of the ticketautomatically adjusts itself to the amount of printed matter to beapplied to the ticket. Further, by the provision of a readily removableprinting head the type or class of ticket printed in the machine can berapidly altered.

The invention is not limited to the example above described assubordinate details of construction can be varied to meet differentrequirements.

I claim:

1. A ticket printing and issuing machine comprising means providing aguideway for a ticket H means in the direction of movement of the strip,

thereby to print and feed said strip along the guideway, means effectinglocation of a leading end of the strip in position for engagement by oneof said printing elements, and means arranged in a cycle of operation ofthe machine to operate said severing means between feeding movements ofthe strip under the action of said circumferentially spaced printingelements, so that the unsevered strip is printed and fed by one of saidspaced printing elements prior to severing, and final printing andfeeding of the strip takes place by the action of another of saidprinting elements on the severed portion thereof after the severingoperation.

2. A ticket printing and issuing machine comprising means providing aguideway for a ticket strip, severing means for cutting transversely astrip moving along said guideway, a rotary member carrying a pluralityof printing elements spaced circumferentially and arranged to engagesaid strip at a location beyond said severing means in the direction ofmovement of the strip, thereby to print and feed said strip along theguideway. means imparting at the beginning of a cycle of operation ofthe machine an initial movement to the strip to bring its leading end inposition for engagement by one of said printing elements, and meansarranged in a cycle of operation of the machine to operate said severingmeans between feeding movements of the strip under the action of saidcircumferentially spaced printing elements, so that the unsevered stripis printed and fed by one of said spaced printing elements prior tosevering. and final printing and feeding of the strip takes place by theaction of another of said spaced printing elements on the severedportion thereof after the severing operation.

CHRISTOPHER FREDERICK WEBB.

